Ghazala Parveen

Phyto-chemical analysis, anti-allergic and anti- inflammatory activity of Mentha arvensis in animals

Allergic diseases are fairly common in all parts of the world and involve all ethnic groups with bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis and eczema being the commonest manifestations. Despite our efforts, their incidence is on an escalating path. The use of herbal remedies and standardized extracts for treatment of allergy and other diseases has been gaining momentum in recent years. The qualitative and quantitative determination of phyto-chemicals and assessment of the anti-allergic and antiinflammatory activities using aqueous and organic extracts of different plant parts (root, stem and leaves) of Mentha arvensis in animals showed that all parts of M. arvensis (specifically, leaves) are rich source of secondary phytoconstituents, which impart their therapeutic effects against allergic and inflammatory diseases. These results support the claim about the use of this herb in folk medicines.

Seroepidemiological surveillance of antitetanus antibodies in Pakistani childbearing women: A population based survey

Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus is a severe, often fatal ailment characterized by sweeping augmented strictness and convulsive spasms of skeletal muscles. Vaccination is the most steadfast method of forbearance against this disease and has inculcated to lessen mortalities. The present study was carried out with a view to assess the serum levels of tetanus antitoxins in randomly selected rural and urban women to find out the effect of age, number of pregnancy, parity and number of injections at the time of delivery. The study was cross-sectional in design and hospital-based. The gold standard mouse neutralization assay was employed despite being costly and cumbersome. Antibody titre of each sample was determined by seroneutralization method. 1504 women, randomly selected from various hospitals of age 15 to 40 years, 1064 (0.000) were vaccinated, which are significant while 440 were unvaccinated women and taken as control. The 65% (p = 0.000) women had antibody titre higher than protective level which is significant, 28% equal to protective level and 6.7% below protective level. Average antibody titre of 3rd trimester was higher than 2nd trimester (p = 0.000) which is significant. Immunization awareness and practice was higher in 30 years in women (63%) of both rural and urban areas but practice was comparatively higher in urban (74%) than rural area (67%). These finding shows that tetanus vaccination in our population is generally effective and cannot be protected by herd immunity, as tetanus is not communicable disease. Key words: Antitetanus antibodies, seroneutralization, childbearing age, Pakistan. INTRODUCTION Tetanus caused by Clostridium tetani , is a vaccine-preventable, global infectious disease with significant morbidity and mortality. The global status of serological immunity against tetanus varies between countries as a result of different national vaccination policies and methods, and the criteria used for determination of serum levels of tetanus antitoxin. Protective immunity was noted

Sero-surveillance of measles amongst vaccinated and non-vaccinated children: An age stratified population based survey in Pakistan

Measles is one of the most contagious human diseases; it remains a leading cause of death among young children and its elimination is one of the major global public health priorities. It is estimated that in year 2008 approximately 100,000 deaths in children aged less than 5 years was attributable to measles. The increase in measles vaccination coverage in the developing world has produced significant changes in the epidemiology of the infection. The present age stratified cross sectional survey was conducted in Islamabad, Pakistan and its adjoining areas during January to June, 2009 to determine the measles protective titre in children of 1 to 15 years. 927 blood samples of children were collected to ascertain the measles antibodies by ELISA assay. 588 were males and 339 were female (p = 0.001). Measles IgG antibodies sero-positive ratio in children among examined population was 741 (79.9%), sero-negative 174 (18.77%) (p = 0.001). Out of 174 seronegative children, 135 (14.5%) were vaccinated while 39 (4.20%) children were non-vaccinated. The children were divided into three groups, that is, 1 to 5 years (pre school age), 6 to 10 years (primary school group) and 11 to 15 years (secondary school going children). Sero-positive antibodies percentage increased age. Measles IgG antibodies ratio is higher in male children as compared to female. Sero-surveillances should be conducted at regional and provincial levels to assess the actual level of protective titre throughout the country and to evaluate the country’s vaccination program. The routine coverage of immunization should also increase from 80 to 100%.

Effective extraction of cephalosporin C from whole fermentation broth of Acremonium chrysogenum utilizing aqueous two phase systems

The downstream processing of biotechnological products from fermentation broth is an important step of production and development of cost effective, efficient downstream processing of many biotechnological products. The present study was conducted by employing aqueous two phase systems (ATPSs) for the extraction of cephalosporin C (CPC) from whole fermentation broth of Acremonium chrysogenum . The biphasic system was prepared by mixing equal aliquots of 15% w/w polyethylene glycol (PEG) 3350 with 15% (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 . The effects of pH, neutral salts, temperature and centrifugal force on partitioning in ATPS to develop efficient extraction system for recovery of CPC from fermentation broth were also examined. The extraction efficiency was improved by enhancing the centrifugal force. Similarly centrifugation for 12.5 min also gave the maximum extraction. Improvement in the recovery yield was also observed by the addition of 0.1% NaCl. The concentration of CPC was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Slight modifications in the mobile phase from 10 to 5% MeOH improved CPC resolution. Further development of more inexpensive systems for extraction can be the future target of research. Keywords: Cephalosporin C, Acremonium chrysogenum , fermentation, aqueous two phase system (ATPS)

Determination of Lethal Dose (LD50)of Venom of four Different PoisonousSnakes found in Pakistan

Pakistan is the highly fertile region for the envenoming and deadly snakes. The envenoming fatality and snake bite cases are increasing day by day not only in Pakistan but also in World. In Pakistan, almost 40,000 snake bite cases and 8000 fatal cases has been identified. This high-risk issue needs to be addressed with an easy accessible and affordable treatment by producing anti snake venom serum. LD50 (50% Lethal Dose) of venom is the prime parameter to determine the toxicity and lethality of venom extracted from the four poisonous snakes present in the Pakistan. The main objective of this study waste produces highly potent and costeffective anti-snake venom serum by the determination of LD50. The venom was extracted from four different species of snakes i.e., Echis carinatus, Vipera russelli, Bungares caeruleus and Naja naja (Cobra) present in Biological Production Division of NIH, Pakistan. The four to five serial dilutions were injected intravenously into the mice tail and observations were recorded to calculate the LD50 of each species by Reed and Munch method in Bacteriology section of Quality Control Laboratory, National Institute of Health, Islamabad. Then 3 to 5 fold LD50 is the neutralization dose of Anti-snake venom serum used for the calculation of ED50 of each batch/lot of anti-snake venom serum(as per WHO). The results of the study shows that LD50 of Naja Naja (Cobra) lies approximate between 6 to 7 μg/dose, Echis carinatus (Saw Scaled Viper) 11 to 12 μg/dose, Vipera russelli (Russel viper) 5 to 6 μg/dose and Bungares caeruleus (Krait) 4 to 5 μg/dose in intravenous injection of dilution.